SOCIETY of AMERICAN BACTERIOLOGISTS Project with Barney Before His Untimelydeath, and He Gave It His Blessing. He of the Trends

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A HALF CENTURY OF PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES OF THE SOCIETY OF AMERICAN BACTERIOLOGISTS PAUL F. CLARK Department of Microbiology University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison, Wisconsin This survey of the presidential addresses of the Society of American Bacte- riologists and brief citations concerning the men is dedicated to Barnett Cohen, Archivist of the Society of American Bacteriologists, first editor of Bacteriological Revies, Associate Professor of Physiological Chemistry in Johns Hopkins Medical School, and our cooperative friend of many years. I like to think of Barney as he arrived in San Francisco at the Society of American Bacteriologists meetings in 1938, a day or two early, with his pipe, his broad grin, and a heavy six weeks' beard acquired while camping in the Black Hills of South Dakota. He was in fine fettle, but in spite of our protests, he did shave before the meetings began. These present sketches are not designed for "the gentle reader" but for the well toughened citizen who has sat through long days at scientific meetings attempting more or less happily to understand papers of varying adequacy in his own or related fields, only occasionally running out into the corridors for a breather (in recent years a Coca Cola). It is hoped that the younger members, still in the hardening process, may pick up a spark or two or some suggestion from these remarks made by those who had preceded them. I discussed this project with Barney before his untimely death, and he gave it his blessing. He was dallying with the notion of writing a substantial history of bacteriology in America "possibly after retiring". I have thought of this paper as a tentative second step following his first one of the publication of the fifty year Chronicles in 1950, with the hope that the series of presidential addresses might show some of the trends of bacteriology during the half century. Carlyle has said that "history is the essence of innumerable biographies," but that definition is far too narrow, as there are many factors and forces in the world other than human beings. It is our privilege to work with and to study some of these highly significant forces, Antony's "little animals". What then will fifty years of presidential addresses tell us about "the little animals" and about these men chosen during each of these years to be the leader of the S.A.B.? It is quite unnecessary for me to beg of you not to read this article through at one sitting; only the writer or his wife or an editor could possibly do that. I ask you rather to take the sketches a few at a time, preferably on Sunday and before an open fire. Has anyone hitherto ever read in rapid succession the presidential addresses of half a century and survived? I doubt it. Yet there has been a satisfaction in reviewing these speeches. I have known most of the men personally, a few of them intimately, and I can remember the effect that a number 213 214 PAUL F. CLARK [VOL. 17 of the speeches made upon me and other members of the audience at the time of delivery. In addition to the hope of some historical and scientific significance, I was led to make this survey partly by differences of opinion among our members, both on the Wisconsin campus and elsewhere, as to the appropriateness of a presidential address delivered after a day full of scientific papers and after a banquet abounding in delicious food and more or less skylarking. We are brought up to appreciate that "reading maketh the full man", but one realizes there are other means of obtaining this end. Some of my younger, less resistant, colleagues have moaned "my cup runneth over" even before the presentation of the presidential address. That these papers have commonly been so well conceived and so graciously received is a tribute both to the wisdom of the authors and to the hardihood of those who attend scientific meetings. Brief biographical statements and summaries of the addresses will be presented in chronological order, followed at the end of the series by comments. Brevity has been essential and omissions have been the rule. Only for completed careers, not merely official retirement, have I thought of a suggestion of finality in the thumb nail sketches. Inevitably in a survey like this, the treatment will reflect the interests, the judgment, and even the prejudices of the writer. I hope I have been reasonably fairminded in my reporting. The statements by each president are manifestly his own, but in passing judgment one should bear in mind the year in which the remarks were written. "Whoever thinks a faultless piece to see, Thinks what ne'er was, nor is, nor e'er shall be." 1899 Organization Meeting at New Haven The opening session was called to order by H. W. Conn; W. T. Sedgwick was asked to preside. During the cigar period, following the annual banquet of the American Naturalists, Professor William T. Sedgwick of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology spoke briefly of the foundation of a new scientific association, the Society of American Bacteriologists (1). 1900 Baltimore William Thompson Sedgwick 1855-1921 "Beloved teacher and unselfish public servant, founder at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology of our first widely influential school of public health", Sedgwick continually stressed the now well recognized fact that microbiology is not merely a "handmaiden" of pathology and medicine but is a fundamental science. This has been the key- stone of the Society. Sedgwick was indeed a "pioneer in public health" (2) as is so ably demonstrated in a biography by that title, written by three of his formerstudents, E. 0. Jordan, G. C Whipple, and C-E. A. Winslow. His numerous publications in the fields of sanitary engineering and public health and his membership on manyboards attest the high quality of his scholarship and his far reaching influence. His greatest monument is the list of several hundred graduate students who have been competent sanitary engineers, contributing scholars, and distinguished professors in institutions in many areas of our country. The Origin, Scope, and Significance of Bacteriology (3) In a charming enlightening manner, Sedgwick presents the slow overthrow of magic and superstitition, as facts and their relations were dug out of the mud of 19531 HALF CENTURY OF PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES 215 our ignorance. "The lightning of heaven, thunderbolt of Zeus, interrogated by our own Franklin, has confessed its affinity to the humbler electricity of glass and amber." He showed the profound changes in man's philosophies as with painful gradualness the explanations of the heating of manure, the retting of flax, and decomposition of organic matter were pried loose and as epidemic plagues were proved due to natural causes and not to visitations of an angry Almighty. "The heavens had long since revealed the glory of God, and the firmament, thanks to the interpretations of Copernicus, Galileo and Newton, had abundantly shown his handiwork. At last, largely through the development of the achromatic objective, the mysteries of the microbiological world are being unravelled." 1901 Chicago William Henry Welch 1850-1934 First dean and professor of pathology in the Johns Hopkins Medical School which opened irs doors in 1893, teacher of most of the leader in pathology in this country during the first half of this century, and wise counselor in the great awakening of medical education and research. After his first retirement at the age of 67, Welch organised the School of Hygiene and Public Health in Baltimore; after his second retirement at 75, he was called upon to fill the new chair in medical history and to develop the Institute in that subject at Hopkins. In addition to his direct influence in im- proving medical education, Welch's charm of personality and his wisdom were used to stimulate gifts of millions of dollars from individual benefactors such as the Rokfeliers and from great philanthropic foundations. Many of his own studies were influenced largely by the advent of bacteriology and include researches in diphtheria, pneumonia, and wound infections, especially those caused by the bacillus of ga gangrene which bears his name as one of its synonyms. The biography of William Henry Welch by Simon and James Thomas Flerner (4) will stimulate and reward any who read it. Di8tribtdion of Bacillus aerogenes capualaus (5) Following a brief statement concerning the many synonyms for the B. aerogenes capoulatus, Welch indicated in some detail the frequent isolation of this organim in his laboratory from the feces of many species including man, also from garden soil, market milk, flies, cesspools, etc. "From these and similar findings by others, this organism must be regarded as one of the most widely distributed bacteria." These remarks at the dinner were made "off the cuff". All who have had the good fortune to know Dr. Welch will appreciate that they were given with a flair, with genial charm, and with a wealth of historical comment and allusion. 1902 Washington Herbert W. Conn 1854-1917 Professor inWesleyan University throughout his profeional life, Conn was active in the founding of this Society, author of many books and scientific papers in the ride field of biology and bacteriology so closely joined during this early period of our history. His son H. J. Conn gave a biographical sketch of the father as his presidential address in 184 (6). No record of the presidential address of the father has been found in the literature or in the Archives of the Society. 1903 Philadelphia Theobald Smith 1859-1926 In the Bureau of Animal Industry, at Harvard Medical School, and as first Director of the Division of Animal Pathology of the Rockefeller Institute at Princeton, Theobald Smith, spare of body and keen of mind, both led and 216 PAUL F. CLARK [VOL. 17 pointed the way for others to follow in bacteriology and in the study of comparative disease. When this incomparable scientific pioneer spoke in meetings, the muddy statements of others were clarified, and in his 250 published papers both the distant vision and exact experimental detail are evident. Insect transmission of infectious agents from one host to another; differentiation of closely related organisms as in the bovine and human varieties oftubercle bacilli; production of immunity by the injection of killed cultures; immunizing effect of toxic-antitoxic mixtures; the Theobald Smith anaphylactic phenomenon; transmission of antibodies in utero and through the colostrum; these and others of his major contributions occur to mind immediately, and one stops merely because of spatial limitations. His final summary of his scientific philosophies "Parasitism and Disease" (7) should be read and reread by all of us. No record of his address either in the Archives or in the literature. 1904 Philadelphia Frederick George Novy 1864- World traveler, incisive, yet genial, long time professor of bacteriology and hygiene at the Universityof Michigan Medical School, his influence is still widely felt there although he has been retired for nearly two decades. Novy has received many honors both at home and abroad, including Chevalier, Legion d'honneur, and membership in our National Academy of Sciences. Among his major fields of effective investigation were microbic respiration, cellular toxins, anaphylatoxins, and many types of hematozoafrom diverse species. He was retired in 1935. Hematozoa in Birds (8) Only the title of the paper is given in Science and reference made to more extensive papers published by Novy and his younger colleagues. 1905 Ann Arbor Edwin Oakes Jordan 1866-1936 With a dignified New England courtesy, a clear penetrating mind, a bit quizzical, with a delightful family life, an extensive personal library, a facile command of English, Jordan lived a well ordered life, taking full advantage of the quarter system of the University of Chicago to enjoy many periods of travel and study in other lands. As joint editor, with Ludvig Hektoen, of the Journal ofInfectious Disease and as author through many editions of his exceptionally well written General Bacteriology (9), he exerted wide influence. Long time head of one of the few departments in this country that has included the animal parasites with other microorganisms, he was instrumental in developing a large number of capable microbiologists. Jordan's own investigations included epidemiological studies, especially in influenza, studies in bacterial dissociation, food poisoning and typhoid fever, especially the illuminating studies on the death rate of intestinal pathogens in their passage down the Chicago drainage canal (10). Variation in Bacteria (11) This scholarly address was never published, but a copy reposes in the Archives of the Society; it properly belongs in the "broadly scientific" group. Save that the examples chosen might be different, the paper might well have been written in 1953 rather than in 1905. Jordan emphasized that all too frequently, bacteriologists of that period overstressed minor fluctuating variations, filling the literature with synonyms of organisms already described. "Some investigators have been led to attach undue importance to trivial morphological or cultural differences and have established new varieties or species on slight provocation. It cannot be doubted also that many original descriptions of new species have been based upon the discovery of aberrant types." (Is this not still true?) He distinguished between "latent characteristics" which are brought out by changes in environment and definite permanent mutations, both progressive and regressive in type. He stressed the desirability of using single cell methods and the use of physiologic characteristics in addition to morphologic properties as bases for classification. He referred liberally to examples among higher plants and animals as well as to instances among bacteria. "It is time," he states, "we 1953] HALF CENTURY OF PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES 217 awake to the fact that what we are in the habit of calling genera and species are purely artificial creations and do not deserve the reverence that age and long familiarity have accorded them." 1906 New York Erwin Frink Smith 1854-1927 Eminent plant pathologist, serving the U. S. Department of Agriculture for many years, Smith is best known for his virus studies on peach yellows and for his investigations of important bacterial diseases of plants among which crown gall and its causative agent Bacterium tumefaciene are most noteworthy. His three volume treatise, Bacteria in Relation to Plant Diwses (12), is the standard classic in that field, and his translation with Hedges of Duclaux' His- tory of a Mind (13) (Biography of Pasteur) has been a delight to many. An extensive biography of Smith by A. D. Rodgers IH was published in 1952 with the subtitle, A Story of North American Plant Pathology (14). No record of his address. 1907 Chicago James Carroll 1854-1907 Carroll was an army surgeon and second in command of the famous Yellow Fever Commission (15) (consisting of Reed, Carroll, Agramonte, and Lasear) that so successfully followed the experiments and suggestions of Carlos Finlay and demonstrated that Aedee aegpti was the insect vector of the agent of this dreaded disease. He was born in Eng- land, emigrated to Canada at the age of 15, joined the U. S. Army as a private in 1874, and worked up to sergeant and hospital steward. In this position he became deeply interested in medicine and with several interruptions in his studies was granted his medical degree from the University of Maryland in 1891. After two winters of graduate work at the Johns Hopkins Medical School, one in bacteriology and one in pathology, Carroll again joined the Army, this time in professional capacity. He showed skill in investigation and on that basis was appointed to the Yellow Fever Com- mission. Although others also had volunteered, as the time factors of the cycle of development in man and in the mosquito were unknown, Carroll happened to be the first in whom the conditions were fulfilled. He was bitten by a mosquito (Aede cegypti) that had fed previously at different times on three yellow fever patients. Four days later, Carroll developed a severe attack but did not die as did Lasear in a subsequent experiment. He was left, however, with a permanently damaged myocardium which made an active life impossible. Because of thee fact, he was appointed curator of the Army Medical Museum, a position which he held until his death in 1907. Carroll died before the annual meeting. 1908 Baltimore Harry Luman Russell 1866- Professor of agricultural bacteriology, dean of the College of Agriculture, and first director of the Alumni Research Foundation of the University of Wisconsin, Russel was one of the pioneer bacteriologists who worked with Koch and with Pasteur in Europe in the early years of our science. His special interests were the many problems of the dairy industry, pasteurization of milk, and the elimination of tuberculosis from the cattle of Wisconsin. He has been retired from his several positions at the designated age but continues active and a world traveler. No record of his address in the literature or in the archives. Russell has no defined memory of the occasion but believes he discussed "Mixed associations of bacteria, their interaction, and the final establishment of the dominant organism as occurs in other forms of life" (personal communication). 1909 Boston Joseph James Kinyoun 1860-1919 Physician in the Medical Corps of the U. S. Marine Hospital Service and later professor of bacteriology and pathology in Georgetown University. One remembers this stalwart citizen especially because of his courageous stand, while stationed in San Francisco in 1900, in announcing that bubonic plague was present in Chinatown of that city. The local authorities made violent denial of this, but Kinyoun stuck to his guns in spite of a campaign of vilification by the commercial interests,the newspapers, and even bythe state board of health. The facts were established by an im- partial commission composed of Simon Flexner, F. G. Novy, and L. F. Barker; they found six cases of plague. 218 PAUL F. CLARK [VOL. 17 Some Observations on the Immune Body (16) Kinyoun endeavored to make a distinction between specific antibodies, with diphtheria and tetanus antitoxins as examples and other bodies also present in the sera, or common immune bodies. "These latter bodies are associated with leucocytes, from which they are thought to arise and have the property of in- creasing the resistance of the cells against many substances which are harmful to them and are of diverse origin." 1910 Ithaca Veranus Alva Moore 1859-1931 From the Bureau of Animal Industry where so many of our able bacteriologists have had their professional birth, Moore went to Cornell as professor of comparative pathology in the New York State Veterinary College. He was author of several of the early textbooks relating to animal diseases and, as dean of the college, played a significant part in the upbuilding of veterinary medicine in this country. His special interest was tuberculosis, both avian and bovine. Bacteriology in General Education (17) Because of its great importance in so many phases of life, Moore urged that bacteriology should be taught in schools and colleges as a part of general education. 1911 Washington Frederick Poole Gorham 1871-1933 An energetic buoyant genial personality (red hair) with a broad natural history background, interested both in scientific progress and in the public weal, Gorham was a professor of biology and bacteriology at Brown University for many years. Bacteriologist of the Providence Board of Health for 34 years (advisory duties largely), in class a com- pelling lecturer, and in laboratory ever ready with suggestion and aid, Gorham was also an active contributor on many public committees from that of the Rhode Island State Tuberculosis Sanitorium to the Park Commission of Provi- dence and the committee on mosquito control. Under a burden of duties that would make most professors of today gasp, Gorham arose regularly between four and five o'clock and carried on. For a third of a century, he aided and stimulated a succession of young bacteriologists who have continued acceptably in professional positions. His own contributions (he never permitted his name on publications with his graduate students) dealt with diphtheria and with photogenic bacteria. Some Biochemical Problems in Bacteriology (18) Gorham made a vigorous plea for the greater use of synthetic media of known chemical composition and quantitative methods of study. "There is scarcely a physiological property of the bacteria, that is today accurately measured. Quantitative studies should become additional bases for an adequate taxonomy, the weakest part of bacteriology." "Variation, selection and heredity are factors of evolution in bacteria as elsewhere; they should provide an excellent field for the study of evolution." He emphasized the necessity of fundamental studies and warned that the bacteriologist should not be too readily lured into the applied fields. 1912 New York William Hallock Park 1863-1939 Park established in New York City the first (1894) municipal bacteriologic laboratory in this country and for 42 years was director of the New York City Research Laboratories. His textbook (19) written with Anna Williams went through eleven editions and has helped many over the rough spots of laboratory practice and fundamental understand- 1953] HALF CENTURY OF PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES 219 ing. His hand and pen ploughed in many bacteriologic fields, but his early studies with diphtheria antitoxin and his later work in large scale vaccination against diphtheria are poesibly his most significant contributions. Those of us who remember the man will recall happily his simple friendly qualities, not the least bit of the pom- pous, but with a direct approach. And with these characteuisties, there was a rugged persistence, a realization that progress was slow and that great cities and great movements could not be hurried. Demonstration on a small scale must be accomplished before larg public support could be obtained, and the pilot plant was in his opinion an important function of the New York City Research Laboratories. The Applications of Bacteriology in the Activities of a City (20) "With this as his text, Dr. Park traced the history of the Research Labora- tories of the Board of Health of New York City, an institution which easily takes rank with the Pasteur Institute of Paris and other institutions of the kind in Europe. In the original work which has been done under Dr. Park's direction, no other American laboratory engaged in public health work can point to so many achievements which have resulted in advancing our knowledge of infectious diseases and methods for controlling them." (This brief note in Science was written by the Secretary, A. Parker Hitchens.) 1913 Montreal Charles-Edward Amory Winslow 1877- Master of our ancient language, both words and ideas have done his bidding for public service and for bacteriologic advance throughout this half century. From one of the intellectual centers of the Hub, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to New York and thence to Yale, that educational metropolis where "God and Jones" converse in friendly tones, Winslow has always been a leader. Member of scores of boards and societies, president of many, author of biographies and public health treatises, Winslow somewhat reluctantly accepted the editorship of the Journal of Bacterioogy when it was an untried venture, and through his leadership made our journal one of international significance. When, in 1944, he felt compelled to pass this burden to another, he became editor of the American Journal of Public Health and broadened the scope of that journal. His personal studies have raged from problems of sewage disposal in his M. I. T. days, through biometrical inves- tigtions to aid in bacterial classification, to studies in the costs of medical care and subtle problems in ventilation. His institution of theAmerican TypeCulture collection when he came to theAmerican Museum of Natural History as curator of Public Health in 1910 was a landmark in our history. He was officially placed on the retired list in 195 but like so many of our ablest men, be is continuing his active life. We do not envy him his capacities and his achievements; rather wae are grateful for them and to him. The Characterization and Classification of Bacterial Types (21) This broadly biologic address presented a strong case for the need of an international committee on characterization and classification of bacteria (this was accomplished in 1930) and urged the necessity for further fundamental studies of bacteria as important biologic entities apart from their many significant functions in soil, in industry, and in causation of disease. The complete inadequacy of the commonly employed Migula's classification was well shown. Drawing on the biometrical studies done in his own laboratories, but also widely on the findings of others, Winslow demonstrated how minor fluctuations can be differentiated by these methods from definite mutations, thus serving importantly in bacterial classification. 1914 Philadelphia Charles Edward Marshall 1866-1927 In accord with the excellent custom of that earlier period, Marshall continued his graduate studies in several Euro- pean laboratories including that of Koch and the Pasteur Institute in Paris. After serving in the Michigan College of Agriculture he became professor of microbiology in achusett Agricultural College in 1912 and dean of the graduate school; he remained active there until his death. Marshall's special interests were food and dairy bacteriology, leading 220 PAUL F. CLARK [voL. 17

to publications on spoilage of canned foods, rotting of root crops, bitter flavors in milk, and the duration of life of tubercle bacilli in cheese made from contaminated milk. He was editor of an important textbook Microbiolog (22) which went through several editions. Microbial Associations (23) Man is a social animal, and under conditions of modern life, he is helpless without his social ties and supports. Bacteria too commonly live in association with other species, a different mode of life from that in a pure culture. Marshall follows Pfeffers classification of these associations, conjunctive and disjunctive symbiosis. The former indicates a relation essential to life and the latter more or less independence, although this association may be favorable or antagonistic. He also stresses serial association where one species is an essential forerunner for the activities of another species in a biological cycle. Examples are numerous: nitrogen cycle, wine-vinegar series, etc. In disease, we find minor respiratory infections altering the ground for more serious invaders, such as streptococci, pneumococci, tubercle bacilli. Complex cycles have been found essential for the perpetuation of many helminths, which in one phase cause disease in man. The tick and the cow are indispensable to the piroplasma in the red blood cell, and man and mosquito essential for the continued life of the plasmodia of human malaria. Marshall urges that "it is pertinent, in our researches, to consider an organism in its natural microbial associations as significant as in a laboratory pure culture." 1915 Urbana David Hendricks Bergey 1860-1937 Bergey had most of his earlier training at the University of Pennsylvania, and there, save for war service, he continued his professional duties throughout his life. His scientific studies included work in the fundamentals of anaphy- laxis and phagocytosis, but his major interest was in systematic bacteriology. Every bacteriologist is familiar with and appreciates the aid provided by Bergep's Manual. With meticulous care and with correlation of his own and the studies of others, he brought out the first edition in 1923. Four editions of this indispensable book were published under his leadership, and two more have appeared since his death. All royalties from the sale of these volumes are held in trust under the control of a Board of Editor-Trustees for the development of bacterial taxonomy. The Pedagogics of Bacteriology (24) (The first presidential address to be published in the Journal of Bacteriology) Bergey deplores the neglect of general bacteriology in courses in general biology. The importance of bacteriology in man's activities is little appreciated even by graduates from our major universities. He also urges the institution of a course in general bacteriology as a premedical requirement with the regular course in medical bacteriology given not earlier than the second semester of the second year of the medical course when the students will be having some clinical contacts. 1916 New Haven Thomas Jonathan Burrill 1839-1916 An old time naturalist, who came up the hard way, Burrill was largely self taught beyond the undergraduate level. As superintendent of schools in Urbana, Illinois, he used his spare time studying the plants of that area but his first teaching in the University of Illinois was in mathematies in 1868. From that time until his death he held many posi- 1953] HALF CENTURY OF PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES 221 tions in that institution including that of first librarian, the chair of natural history, dean of the college of science, and acting president at three different periods. In 1870 he became professor of botany and horticulture, and in spite of administrative duties he continued active in botany and plant pathology until his death at the age of 77. He contributed to our knowledge of bacterial and fungous diseases of a number of important fruits: pear, apple, cherry, peach. His most noteworthy achievement was the discovery of the first proved bacterial disease of plants, fire or pear blight in 1882. He named the infective organism Micrcoccu. amylovorus; it is now known as Erwinia amylovorm. Professor Burrill died in office. 1917 Washington Leo Frederick Rettger 1874- Capable professor at Yale University for many years, Rettger has now joined the emeriti but continues to live busily in New Haven. His experimental interests have been diverse with considerable emphasis on bacterial nutrition and its relation to morphological and physiological variation of organisms. His investigation on the utilization of nitrogen from protein and nonprotein sources, of different carbohydrates, and the optimum proportions of C02 and Os in the growth of the diphtheria bacillus and the production of its specific toxin are noteworthy. His study (with several of his students) of the intestinal flora, particularly the anaerobes and the lactobacilli, and the implantation of the latter in the intestinal tract through the use of different diets have attracted wide interest. The Science of Bacteriology and its Relation to Other Sciences (25) "Bacteriology is a child of many adoptions, ever precocious, but not yet fully mature. Born with a definite mission to serve and to save, it has re-created pathology, given inspiration and new life to botany and zoology, contributed generously of its substance to agriculture and home economics, and lent itself as the framework around which modern hygiene and preventive medicine have been built. Yet all the while it has conducted itself in competent hands as a pure science." Bacteriology differs from all other sciences. Its technique and methods of experimentation and control are its own. It has its own problems. Yet like other sciences, and even to a greater degree, it must borrow from and give to other fields of study. Bacteriology is especially related to chemistry and to biochemistry. Many of the fundamental problems of bacteriology such as bacterial nutrition are essentially biochemical problems. He urges the use of synthetic media, the better to study bacterial enzymes. Foods must be of simple composition in order that they may be utilized for cell growth. He comments upon our lack of any exact knowledge of the vitamins and other accessory growth substances. 1918 Baltimore Robert Earle Buchanan 1883- Professor of bacteriology and dean of the Graduate School at Iowa State College, Buchanan has played an important part in systematic bacteriology through his own studies, through membership in the international commision, and as author of a volume on taxonomy (26). He has also published several significant textbooks including one, House- hod Bateriolo (27), in which he is co-author with his wife. In the catalogue, he is labeled emeritus, but he has never learned the implications of that condition. He continues exceedinglyactive; you will find him at all meetings oontributingwith wisdom; he is a world traveler and you are just as likely to run into him in Cairo, in Picadilly Circus, or on the Rue de Rivoli as in Madison or New York. Agglutination (28) This address presented at the first meeting after World War I is more extensive than most. It is a scholarly detailed documented summary (with 5 tables and 3 charts) of the literature on the mechanism of specific bacterial agglutina- 222 PAUL F. CLARK [VOL. 17 tion. Buchanan's conclusions summarize the well analyzed evidence. "There is ample justification for the conclusion that bacterial agglutination is a colloidal phenomenon that can best be studied in the light of the modern work on colloidal and physical chemistry. There is real need for intensive study of the complex inter-relationship of the factors which govern this phenomenon that they may be more clearly understood, and the diagnostic use of agglutination put upon a more scientific, rather than a purely empirical, basis." 1919 Boston Samuel Cate Prescott 1872- One of the stalwart Massachusetts Institute of Technology bacteriologists, now retired, Prescott has led an active life, especially productive in the fields of food and water bateriology. Aside from many detailed papers, he is the joint author of a number of successful books, including Water Bacteriolog (29), the latter with Winslow through six editions. Prescott is still vigorous, travels many miles in consultation with food technologists and refrigeration engineers. One office is not enough for him in his "retirement"; he uses one for his scientific pursuits and the other for work on the early history of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Some Bacteriological Aspects of Dehydration (30) Starting from prehistoric cave woman, who hung wild grapes in the sun to become raisins and the sides of reindeer to dry, Prescott traced the development of the drying methods. World War I forced Malthus to the front once more; production and conserva- tion of food became a major element of life, both at the front and in the home. Efforts were made on each side of the battle line to increase production, to ration food, and to prevent waste and spoilage. In Germany, commercial dehydration of foods, especially potatoes and other root vegetables, had a rapid expansion from 1900; this became a large factor in feeding the people during and after the war. Prescott records in some detail the findings made during the war. Several different methods of dehydration, four types of storage, and a variety of con- tainers of the foods were studied. After initial examinations for moisture content and microbes, they left sample lots undisturbed for two, four, and six weeks with reexamination at these periods. Not only bacterial counts were made, but isolation and identification of the bacteria and of seven genera and a number of species of fungi. With the storage conditions employed, bacterial counts of the dehydrated foods gradually di shed while mold spores remained practically constant. 1920 Chicago Charles Krumwiede, Jr. 1879-1930 Able colleague of Dr. Park in the New York City Research Laboratory and co-author with Park and Williams of several editions of their famous textbook, Pathogenic Mcwrorganensa (19), Krumwiede carried successfully a heavy burden in that laboratory in spite of many years of depressing illness. No record of his address has been found. 1921 Philadelphia Francis Charles Harrison 1870-1952 Harrison received his early education in England, came to Canada for his collegiate and graduate studies, and continued there in various professional positions, chiefly in McGill University until his retirement because of ill health 19531 HALF CENTURY OF PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES 223 in 1930. For twenty year, he was professor of bacteriology and principal of the college of agriculture in McGill. He resigned these appointments in 19 to become professor of bacteriology in the medical school of McGill and dean of the graduate faculty. His primary scientific intereste were in dairy and food bacteriology. He had several strong avocations, including military training in the Canadian universities especially during the first World War, sketching, a hobby which he rode in Italy and the south of France after his retirement, and one more closely related to his profession, the history of bacteiology. His scholarly paper (31), produced after much delving into the fictions, legends, and facts of the prodigies created by B. prdigioemw, is a masterpiece. Our Society (32) Harrison presented a brief statement of the founding of the Society with commendation of its accomplishments. Continued striving along manifest lines was urged, capped at the end with an appropriate quotation from Herrick: "If little labour, little are our gaines; Man's fortunes are according to his paines." 1922 Detroit Lore Alford Rogers 1875- Ror was for many yarbactriolomgt and chief of the dairy industry laboratory of the U. S. Department of Agriculture; he was retired in 192. His chief interests were the bacteriology and control of the mnufacture of dairy products. His predentialaddress indicates thathehes faced the difficulties of runningalge laboratory and we know that he has handled them with success. When the American Type Culture Collection was moved from New York to Washington, Rogers devoted much time and interest to this collecdon, invaluable to all b logist. What Constitutes Efficieny in Research? (33) This telling analysis of the difficulties in organizing research on a large scale merits rereading today when such enormous sums of money, both public and private, are being channeled to rather specific ends. "We are afraid that in an effort to increase our efficiency, our freedom in working out our problems in our own way, and at our convenience will be curtailed." Red tape is found in any large organization, not only government. A popular fallacy is current that efficiency and economy result from consolidation of small units into larger ones. With increase in size is observed a strong tendency for the clerical elements and service accessory organizations to dominate the scientific staff. "In the factory, the road to efficiency leads through system, routine super- vision, coordination of men and machines, office records and elimination of unnecessary motions. In the laboratory, efficiency is obtained by reducing super- vision to the lowest point compatible with the ability of the investigator; by removing him from the distractions of report writing and routine office work; by surrounding him with an atmosphere conducive to study and meditation; by providing him with the special equipment necessary to the solution of his problem and by promoting a spirit of cooperation which will unite the individual investigators into a compact body working together on a single group of problems." A quotation from Huxley is also significant. "What people call applied science is nothing but the application of pure science to particular classes of problems." In summarizing, Rogers clearly indicates that "the essential thing is not the form of the organization but rather the spirit in which it is applied." 224 PAUL F. CLARK [VOL. 17 1923 New Haven Edwin George Hastings 1872- Methodical, reasonable, and always helpful, Hastings was chairman of the department of bacteriology in the Uni- versity of Wisconsin College of Agriculture for three decades until his retirement in 1942. We who have known 'E. G." well and admired him, see throughout this presidential address his orderly mind, his disinclination to be hurried, and his refusal to let commonly accepted ideas sway him from observed facts. His major contributions were in the field of the acid-fast bacilli, especially tuberculosis in cattle. Some Questions of Method in Bacteriology (34) This address urges a more critical examination into the limitations of our bacteriologic methods and cites chiefly the tuberculin test in cattle and the agglutination reaction among root-nodule bacteria as significant instances of our difficulties. "To work with impure cultures is repellent to the bacteriologist." Yet, in industrial fermentation, mixtures of strains are commonly more effective than one strain alone, with a definite change in the limiting hydrogen ion concentration. "We did our best in our ignorance to spoil the starters of the butter makers," by keeping the cultures pure, but nature corrected our mistakes by contaminat- ing the cultures with associated organisms. Are we too insistent on the pure culture method? Do we not need to extend our studies to groups of organisms rather than merely to pure cultures? Last year (1922) in a cooperative study of the federal government and the several states, three per cent of the tuberculin positive cattle showed no lesions at autopsy save in the skin. In studies at Wisconsin, no tubercle bacilli could be found in these lesions, only other acid-fast organisms which did not infect experimental animals, nor could they be cultured. Manifestly the tuberculin test is not as definite as some have supposed. And little has been done to determine the degree of error on the other side. Are nonreacting tuberculous cattle left in the herds, or are the related acid-fast organisms demonstrable in the skin lesions responsible for some of the positive reactions? Laboratory tests frequently do not merit the full faith placed in them by the men "in the field" whether that field be the hospital or the farm. If we understand the limitations of our methods, we shall beware of making false interpretations and shall strive persistently to improve the methods. 1924 Washington Arthur Parker Hitchens 1877-1949 Those who recall the years before the Society had any News Letter, and while the Journal was either unborn or was just getting under way, will remember clearly the reports on the "state of the Society" by Parker Hitchens as Secretary (1913-1923). We retain a vivid picture of this alert, effective man with his imagination and vision. Hitchens held positions in the Army Medical Corps and in several institutions, industrial, public health, and educational. He was a motile organism, but we think of him chiefly in Pennsylvania and always initiating some new venture such as the Bacteriological Abstracts, or developing better methods for the production of antisera, or as an editor-trustee of the Bergey's Manual. Then, called by the army, we find him in the Philippines as chairman of the Leprosy Research Board or investigating dengue fever with Siler and Hall. We owe him our gratitude, and we gave him our affection. At the time of the meetings, Dr. Hitchens was in the U. S. Medical Corps in the Philippines. He sent a telegram: "Best wishes for successful meeting." 1953] HALF CENTURY OF PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES 225 1925 Madison Norman MacLeod Harris 1870- Harris has in his professional career moved back and forth acrow the very slight bairier which separates us from our good neighbors to the north. He finally settled in Ottawa as chief of the laboratory of hygiene in the Canadian Department of Health. A friendly colleague and a paintg leader he has been active on the committee on tuber- culceis and animal disease of the Canadian National Research Council. Our Society in Retrospect and Prospect (35) Harris emphasizes the social traits of man as among the more important in his survival, and he places scientific associations in the highest plane in forward- ing man's social aspirations. After a summary of past achievements of this society, he made a few suggestions for the future. Some of these have been adopted as, for example: the rewriting of the constitution, holding of round table conferences and request addresses at the annual meeting, and the appointment of an archivist. He thought also that the presidential address should be the first item on the scientific program rather than after the banquet, and he recommended the establishment of a continuing committee to consider fields in which combined research is needed. 1926 Philadelphia Hans Zinsser 1878-1940 Zinsser held the chair of bacteriology successively at Leland Stanford, Columbia, and Harvard Medical Schools. He was astudent of infectious disease on three continents, both in the laboratory and in the field. His most noteworthy contributions dealt with the rickettsial diseases, especially typhus fever whose history he has told entertainingly in his inimitable Rate, Lice and HEstory (38). His work on what he called residue antigens led him early to a generalization emphasizing the antigenic significance of the nonprotein constituents of bacteria. His Infection and Resistance (37), invaluable to students young and old, was the first and, to this reviewer, remains the best single volume on immunity in our language.' Personally Zinserwasgay, dynamic, voluble, a loverof hores and music, an exponent of good living and keen thinking and a rare comrade. "He was one of the persons on whom all controversial questions of his time acted like horseflies on a half-broken mule" (38). We consider him one of the leading bacteriologists of his generation. Problems of the Bacteriolost in His Relations to Medicine and Public Health (39) In his characteristically pungent style, Zinaser presents an unusually rich offering, really three addresses in one. I. On a growing misunderstanding between the medical profession and the schools in regard to the teaching of the sciences. He meets the adverse criticisms of some successful practitioners who were (and still are) asserting that the medical schools are turning out highly trained specialists, "a very costly sort of physician, . . . not meant to do the ordinary service of medicine for ordinary people." He points out clearly the overwhelming advances in the sciences on which the art and practice of medicine are based and suggests sharply that "ordinary people" merit a physician capable of "under- standing and applying scientific biologic knowledge.... Medicine is not a trade that can be drilled into an unprepared mind by shop methods.... Is it conceiv- able that even today a practising physician can intelligently apply modern therapeutic methods to cases of diabetes, nephritis or any other metabolic 1Since this was written, Immunity, Hypersensitivy and Serology by Sidney Raffel has been published (1953, Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York). Raffel's is a worthy successor to Zinsser's philosophic presentation of the subject. 226 PAUL F. CLARK [VOL. 17 diseases without at least a fundamental training in organic and biologic chemistry?" II. On the interdependence of research and teaching. A second adverse criticism of the modem medical school and our universities is that too much emphasis is placed on research and too little on teaching and that the two functions should be separated. Zinsser took the head off of this dragon quite handily, but blood was spilt, and from the blood new dragons arise. "Overemphasis on mere pedagogy is the real danger." Save for a few geniuses, teaching and investigation must march on together; both legs are necessary for a progressing institution or a progressive individual. "The problem has not been solved but whatever the solution may be, it surely will not be found in the sterili- zation of the teaching force, which indeed more often needs a Voronoff than a general surgeon." III. On the practice of patenting discoveries in the field of medicine. Zinsser deplores "the growing tendency on the part of medical scientific workers, and bacteriologists especially, to patent discoveries of practical therapeutic and public health value." 1927 New York Robert Stanley Breed 1877- As chief in research bacteriology, New York Experiment Station, Breed has been a painstaking student of thebac- terial and cell content of milk; he has devoted himself to the improvement of the sanitary quality of cows' milk. His other devotion has been to taxonomic bacteriology. The successive editions of Bergey's Manual, indispensable to all bacteriologists, are monuments to his efforts. He was officially retired in 1947 but continues meticulously his work in systematic bacteriology. Since 1930, he has been permanent secretary of the International Committee on Bacterial Nomenclature. The Present Status of Systematic Bacteriology (40) Carl Linn in his systema vegitabalum (1774) proposed the generic term Chaos for the little understood microscopic organisms. Breed challenges the use of such a concept at this time and the hazy thinking behind it, and makes good his thesis. He presents a brief history of the development of zoological, botanical, and bacteriologic nomenclature, stresses the importance of the "law of priority" in avoiding chaos, and emphasizes the "type species concept." He does give the nod to a slight degree of elasticity allowing a few exceptions to the priority law on the basis of long usage. He concludes that "nomenclature holds the same relationship to systematic bacteriology that grammar holds to literature." 1928 Richmond Alice Catherine Evans 1881- Bacteriologist in U. S. Department of Agriculture from 1910 to 1918 when she transferred to the U. S. Public Health Service, there to remain active until her retirement in 1945, Miss Evans has advanced our knowledge in a number of bacterial fields, including cheese ripening processes, bacteriophage, and bacterial pleomorphism. Her most important contribution and that for which we all salute her is the demonstration that a number of organisms from widely separated sources and diseases are closely related and belong to one genus, now known as Brucella, and that various diseases in different species, including man, are cases of brucellosis. Life Cycles in Bacteria (41) "Life cycles are a law of nature." With this as her thesis, Miss Evans builds up an interesting picture of such transformations in widely diverse forms, in- 1953] HALF CENTURY OF PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES 227 eluding vertebrates, insects, fungi, and algae. She cites the tadpole and the frog, several of the highly complex metamorphoses of insects such as the rosy aphid (Anuraphi roeus), instances from the rust fungi such as wheat rust (Puccinia graminis), and highly complex cycles among the blue-green algae. She stresses several well known examples where a different environment, a different diet, as for example with the larvae of the honeybee, totally alter the morphology and physiology of the individual. After a broad biological survey, Miss Evans indicates the special difficulties of studying life cycles in organis as minute as bacteria and discusses the pertinent literature. Referring to her own work, she reports "the finding of Bacillus ubtilis in cases of epidemic encephalitis and the production of the disease in rabbits following the inoculation of some strains of this orgaism... . The brains of such animals contain a virus indistinguishable from the well-known so-called herpetic and encephalitic viuses.... The bacterial organism is unstable and metamor- phosis may be observed.... I have seen the transformation of rod to streptococcus so many times that I am forced to the conclusion that B. nubtilis with its endospores is the resistant resting phase of an organism with a complex life cycle, certain phases of which are parasitic in mammals." 1929 Ames Ludvig Hektoen 1863-1951 Professor of pathology in the University of Chicago for almost four decades, director of the McCormick Institute for Infectious Diseases for an equal period, Hektoen was also editor-in-chief of the Journal of Infectwue Diseass and of the ArcAie of Patholo for many years. His manifold duties well done and the long list of signal honors make it difficult to tell briefly the wide influence of this modest kindly unssumin physician and pathologist. Of the more than 300 papers published during his sixty years of active professional life, about half deal with case reports and problem in pathogenesis suggested by his autopsy work. As so many of the cases were acute or chronic infections, he was drawn into the study of the reactions of the host and especially antigen-antibody reactions. Many of his findings, dovetailing with the work of others, are now common knowledge. To mention just a few: He demonstrated the antigenicity of many purified proteins, such as hemoglobin, the organ specificity of lens protein and thyro- globulin, and the identity of the precipitin antibody even when many antigens areinjected into the same animal. By surgical removal of organs and the use of a number of leucotoxic agents, he correlated antibody formation with the activity of lymphoid tissues and the bone marrow. He was the first to reproduce measles experimentally in human volunteers. He described the anamnestic response although not with that terminology. And he did the work largely himself, not by the modern mode of a parcel of inadequate secretaries as "editors" and laboratory technicians as "scientists." Those of us who have received his well measured criticisms written in his own fine script on manuscripts sent for publication will ever be grateful and wish only that we could have received his suggestions earlier and followed them more completely. Advances in the Study of Streptoocci (42) From Winge's description of "threads carrying globular bodies" in the lesions of mycotic endocarditis in 1869, Hektoen swept down through the decades indicating the important steps in our advancing knowledge of the streptococci. He queried briefly the importance of the green producing streptococci, admitting that subacute bacterial endocarditis was "the only definite disease for which these organisms were the established etiologic agents." We must bear in mind that this was the period when these alpha hemolytic streptococci were being isolated from many diseasesof uncertainetiologysuch as poliomyelitis (Rosenow), encephalitis (Rosenow, Evans), and measles (Tunnicliff). Hektoen states that "the intimate association of these organisms with these diseases has been established but the precise nature of this relationship is not settled acceptably to all concerned in its investigation." 228 PAUL F. CLARK [VOL. 17 As for the hemolytic streptococci he agrees that the "unitarian" view has been upset by the establishment of immunologic groups of which at least two were associated with definite diseases, scarlet fever and erysipelas. Considering chiefly the toxigenic power of streptococci he cites the well known work of George and Gladys Dick in which they demonstrated "the relation of certain streptococci and their toxin to scarlet fever." He concluded that "they opened fully the door towards which others may be said to have pointed." He dismissed allergy as playing anything but a minor role in some of the complications of scarlet fever and asserted that the evidence, both clinical and immunologic, favored the view that scarlet fever is a toxic disease. He queries whether "pathogenic hemolytic streptococci produce toxins that are more or less identic," and continues his consideration of scarlet fever and erysipelas. "Owing to its marked characteristics, erysipelas has been regarded as a distinct disease since Hippocratic times. It has never been confused with scarlet fever. The epidemics of the two diseases remain distinct." Drawing especially on the work of Birkhaug and the Dicks, he concludes that the toxins are also distinct. "I conclude that etiologically erysipelas and scarlet fever are as distinct and different as they are clinically." 1930 Boston Stanhope Bayne-Jones 1888- "B-" has occupied professorial positions in bacteriology at Johns Hopkins, Rochester, and Yale Medical Schools. He has moved progressively into important administrative positions; dean of Yale Medical School (193-40), director of Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research (193747), chief of preventive medicine in the Office of the Surgeon General of the U. S. Army (1942-46), and member of numerous medical boards. He has been the recipient of high honors, medical, military, and academic. His chief investigations were fundamental studies based on the development of delicate methods. By motion pho- tomicrography he studied cytological changes of bacteria especiallyduring formation of endospores; by microcalorim- etry he determined the rate of heat production of a single bacterium. In applied lines, he contributed to our knowledge of actinomycosis and of rat-bite fever of both etiologic types. Since 1947 he has been serving the Joint Administrative Board of New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center as president. Reciprocal Effects of the Relationship of Bacteriology and Medicine (43) Bayne-Jones in his stimulating historical sketch pays especial attention to the different characteristics and influence of Claude Bernard who was mainly interested in underlying theories and principles and Pasteur who was to a considerable degree a practical opportunist. Bacteriology has for so long a period been opportunistic, dealing principally with practical functions of bacteria that it has remained one of the weaker descriptive sciences. With full appreciation of the numerous applications of bacteriology, Bayne-Jones urged bacteriologists to follow Claude Bernard to a greater degree and to stress studies of the fundamental physiology of the microbes. 1931 Baltimore James Howard Brown 1884- In charge of bacteriology at the Johns Hopkins Medical School from 1923 until his retirement in 1949, Brown has carried on as a productive scholar and a deviser of simple effective techniques, beginning with his classical studies on 1953] HALF CENTURY OF PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES 229 streptooooci, followed by investigations of anaerobic bacteria especially anaerobic streptococci of the female genital tract. The Biological Approach to Bacteriology (44) In his brief survey of the history of bacteriology, Brown urges the philosophical or broadly biological approach to problems. The great diversity of scientific interests represented by the members of his society gives abundant evidence of our "unquenchable curiosity." Our common interest is in "what bacteria are as well as in what they do.... A humane desire or an industrial need may indicate where research is needed but during the progress of research such desires are best forgotten." 1932 Ann Arbor Edwin Broun Fred 1887- Professor of bacteriology in the College of Agriculture, University of Wisconsin, he has spent years in investigating products of bacterial growth, has made significant contributions to industrial bacteriology, and has been especially devoted to the root nodule bacteri After 1934, he became in turn dean of the Graduate School, dean of the College of Agriculture, and since 194 has served as president of the University of Wisconsin. Nationally, Fred has received many honors including among others, membership in the American Philosophical Society, the National Advisory Health Council, and the National Academy of Sciences. Antony van Leeuwenhoek on the Three Hundredth Anniversary of His Birth (45) This delightful review of the life and work of the father of microbiology is prefaced by a print in color of his portrait by Johannes VerKolje. Both the painted and the word picture portray the zealous, indefatigable, independent worker in whose debt we all stand. Fred places van Leeuwenhoek admirably in his European setting of the 17th Century, indicates clearly his contributions to bacteriology, his methods and microscopes as far as we know them, and delineates sharply the highlights of his staunch personality. 1933 Philadelphia William Mansfield Clark 1884- Chemist for many years in government service, first in the Bureau of Dairy Industry and later in the Hygienic Laboratory, Clark has been professor of physiological chemistry in the Johns Hopkins Medical School since 1927. He has received many national honors including among others, membership in the National Research Council, American Philosophical Society, and the National Academy of Sciences. We think of him especially for his studies in acid-base and in oxidation-reduction equilibria and should thank him daily for valuable calorimetric pH indicators. He was officially retired in 1952 but is continuing biochemical studies at the Johns Hopkins University chemical laboratories. Evolution Towards a Mature Scientific Literature (46) After a delightful commentary on the catholicity of this society, noting that bacteriology is the melting-pot of all the sciences, Clark cited in detail the be- wildering deluge of publications with a resulting growth in abstract journals and reviews. Still worse, the reviews are unable to cover the literature even in a restricted field. He then sailed into a prophetic vision of what was at that time the future, showing that because of publication pressures, a vast number of short articles, "glorified abstracts", would appear and a growing confusion of terms in the same field would be manifest. By 1940, he foresaw the publication of "A Daily Scientific Preview" for the presentation of the "more urgent pre- liminary papers." 230 PAUL F. CLARK [VOL. 17 Looking still more deeply into his crystal ball, our prophet described the more effective labors of this society from 1952-1965. The primary task of this and similar committees in other sciences was "the construction of an elementary treatise on basic theory." Gradually, "brevity and adequate completeness were joined in beauty of exposition. Not a principle was mentioned that was not carefully developed from its experimental origins or its basic postulates. Not a word was allowed that did not have its roots in the fundamentals of science." These basic treatises were not received with enthusiasm, but again years passed and slowly they became an integral part of thinking and of instruction from the earlier grades through graduate schools. And "now" the ralnbow appears and "few articles are published which are not the work of long years- often the work of a lifetime.... Scientific literature is on its way to maturity." 1934 Chicago Milton Joseph Rosenau 1869-1946 Rosenau was surgeon in the U. S. Public Health and Marine Hospital Service for two decades and director of the Hygienic Laboratory of the same service for another. In 1909 he was called to fill the new chair of preventive medicine and hygiene in Harvard Medical School, a position he held until his retirement in 1935. Whereupon he was then called to organize a school of public hygiene in the University of North Carolina; he reached his second retirement in 1940. Aside from the development of thesestrong departments in preventive medicine, Rosenau was author of the first excellent text in English (47) in that subject. He investigated and wrote on many aspects of his field especially toxins and antitoxins, both tetanus and diphtheria, and the methods of their preparation. With Anderson he gave us one of the first clear demonstrations and explanations of anaphyiaxis. Serendipity (48) Observing that, "Nowadays, I suppose no one reads Horace Walpole," Rosenau took as his text a paragraph from a letter from that indefatigable 18th century correspondent: "The princes of Serendip;" as their Highnesses travelled, "were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of.... For instance one of then discovered that a mule blind of the right eye had travelled the same road lately, because the grass was eaten only on the left side, where it was worse than on the right-now do you understand Serendipity?" (Horace Walpole, 1754). Our own "patron saint, Pasteur", makes clear the underlying basis of such discoveries. "Dans les champs de l'observation, le hazard ne favorise que les esprits prepares." With great charm and from widely scattered fields of knowledge, Rosenau develops this thesis. Archimedes, Columbus, Isaac Newton, James Watt, Keluld, and Descartes pass before our delighted eyes with Serendipity as our talisman. In all fields however, "the master word has always been and always will be work.... Chance and accidental discoveries in scientific research come only through preparation by toil and thought." The discovery of the stain by Gram; vaccination against smallpox by Jenner; the generalization of the term vaccine and the broad conception of active immunization by Pasteur with his "attenuated" cultures in chicken cholera; Roas, the mosquito, and malaria; Rosenau and Anderson with their work on anaphy- laxis; Semmelweiss, the autopsy on his friend and childbed fever; one after another in an exciting series, many such examples are brought before our inner 1953] HALF CENTURY OF PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES 231 eyes and make us agree with Rosenau that we must never discard the unexpected or the unusual without remembering Serendipity. ltosenau considers that one of the broadest and deepest indirect results of science and the scientific method has been the change in human psychology. "It is no longer impious to doubt. All our problems even those of an emotional nature may now be discussed with calm detachment." 1935 New York Karl Friedrich Meyer 1884- For many years vigorous director of the Hooper Foundation of Medical Research of the University of California and professor of bacteriology in that institution, Meyer's more notable contributions have been in solving problems for the canning industries and in furthering our knowledge of immunity and spread of plague. He has served on many boards and has xeceived high honors for his achievements, such as membership in our National Academy of Sciences and giving many endowed lectures. Latent Infections (49) The President was unavoidably detained in California so this address was not delivered. This learned and lengthy paper draws from wide experience and an extensive knowledge of the literature in many biological fields. With examples both from the animal and the plant kingdom, from normal biology and disease processes, Meyer discusses symbiosis and antibiosis, and the problems of latent, symptomless and abortive infections. Nicolle lists 16 diseases in which symptomless infections are known, and the list could be enlarged. The successful use of "blind passage" of material from apparently normal animals, finally resulting in definite disease has been demonstrated repeatedly. A potent hog cholera antiserum may change the disease to symptomless infection, the popliteal nodes from bismuth treated, clinically inactive, syphilitic rabbits may provide material for the infection of normal animals; in both instances a silent or resting infection. "It is well-known that anaerobic spores of C. welchii or tetani, whether deposited with or without a foreign body, may remain "hidden" or "latent" and be a constant danger when an aseptic operation is performed months or years after the original injury." Meyer gives extensive examples and an outline of different types of latency. In the unavoidable absence of the president, Karl Meyer, the vice-president, Thomas M. Rivers, served most acceptably in his stead. This delectable satire has, unfortunately, not been published and we regret the inadequacy of our abstract. Virus de Vejetz (50) In a free translation of an old Spanish paper read by Doctors- Lopez and Rodriquez at Barcelona (names fictitious and resemblances coincidental) Rivers stated that any inaccuracies in his translation were fully compensated by the precision of the beautiful drawings of Mr. Louis Schmidt, artist at the Rocke- feller Institute. Several of these are shown in Plate I. 232 PAUL F. CLARK [VOL. 17 "We have observed the following facts regarding our stock of white mice. Certain of them become less active; the males frequently lose their potency; the females cease to bear young. Their hair becomes sparse and brittle, their teeth fall out, then hearing becomes less acute and in (certain instances is completely lost, and their skin is dry, scaly, and wrinkled." "We were puzzled by this phenomenon." After ruling out a deficiency disease by feeding liberal and varied diets including liver extracts and all kinds of vita-

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VejlzPLATE I Experiments with Virus de A. Mouse suffering from this disease B. Collection of tears for transmission experiments C. Collection of saliva I). Collection of blood mins and hormones, we determined by the most exacting experiments that the condition was due to a virus, that the virus was present in the blood, in fact in all the tissues and all the excretions, that it was possible to transmit the disease to normal mice by injecting any tissue, but this was successful only after a prolonged incubation period. The disease proved to be readily contagious but again only after a long incubation and was invariably fatal. The agent proved to be filterable, the smallest of the known animal viruses, not greater than 3 milli- microns in diameter. 19531 HALF CENTURY OF PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES 233 "No treatment or effective vaccine has as yet been found or devised. We have named the agent the Virus de Vejdz" Question from the floor: What about controls? Answer: Inasmuch as mice are 100% susceptible to the virus, controls seemed superfluous, and because of expense were omitted. Question: I am an nglishman and do not understand Spanish very well. Would you mind giving a good English translation of Virus de Vej6z? Answer: The English translation of Virus do Vejdz is Virus of Old Age. 1936 Indianpolis Thomas Mton Rivers 1888- Director of the Hspital td e lywnstute, lV= Worked ffctivelyinthefield of filterable vrses and Was author and editor of ignificant volumes concerning virus diseases long before the msrked increased intert in these infections. He is best known for clarifying some of the problems in vaccinia. smallpox, chickenpox and measles. He has been the recipient of high honors at home and abroad including the presidency of the Third International Congress for Microbiology and membership in our National Academy of Sciencas. Viruses and Koch's Postuates (51) This superior address was especially timely and its critical point of view with pertinent examples is timeless. "It is unfortunate that so many workers have blindly followed the rules because Koch himself quickly realized that in certain instances all the conditions could not be met.... In 1891, he stated that if the regular and exclusive occur- rence of the parasite is demonstrated, the causal relationship between parasite and disease is validly established." Manifestly with obligate parasites, cultivation on lifeless media is not necessary, and the difficulty of reproducing the disease typically in another species is always with us. The important part that antigen- antibody reactions may play in demonstrating specific etiologic relationships was, of course, unknown in Koch's time. Especially in virus disease studies one must be aware of a number of possible difficulties. a. "The virus must be shown to occur in the sick individual not as an incidental or accidental finding but as the cause of the disease under investigation." Ex- amples of error: herpes virus frequently latent in man; streptococci in polio- mylitis. b. The virus must not be a chance pickup from the experimental animal. Examples: lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus in experimental mice; virus III in rabbits. c. Virus carriers are common. d. It is not necessary to require a single organism as causative agent. Example: hog influenza. e. Not infrequently several viruses produce the same clinical and pathological picture. Example: a number of the encephalitis viruses. 234 PAUL F. CLARK [VOL. 17 f. Reproduction of the disease must be carried out with bacteria-free material through several passages. "The spirit but not the substance of the Henle-Koch postulates must be observed." 1937 Washington James Morgan Sherman 1890- Professor of bacteriology and head of the department of dairy industry in Cornell University, Sherman served this Society effectively as secretary-treasurer longer than any other man (1923-35) and took over the editorship of the Jour- nal ofBacteriolg in 1944 when Winslow gave up that important and difficult task. He continued as effective editor through 1951. (Presidents may come and presidents may go, but all recognize that the editors of our journals and the secretary-treasurers carry the load.) His research interests have been many: dairy bacteriology, lactobacilli in milk; the relation of soil protozoa to the bacterial flora; the characteristics of physiologic youth of bacteria; effects of salt on bacterial growth; and more especially physiological studies of the various groups of streptooooci correlated with Lefeld's methods of classification. The Enlerococci and Related Streptococci (52) The paper is part of a series of important studies on streptococci from Sher- man's laboratory. He correlates physiological studies with Lancefield's serological methods and shows clearly that the enterococci of four recognized species, two of which are "hemolytic" (beta hemolysis) and two "nonhemolytic" (alpha hemolysis), are members of group D. The "lactics", Streptococcus lactis and S. cremoris, are not members of group D and may also be readily differentiated from the fecalis group by physiologic tests. Although 50/100 strains of S. bovis gave definite reactions with group D serum, physiological studies sharply differentiate these organisms from the enterococci. Sherman begs for more of the laborious and varied studies which may eventu- ally aid in a clearer classification of the nonhemolytic (alpha hemolysis) streptococci. 1938 San Francisco Paul Franklin Clark 1882- For many years professor of bacteriology in the Medical School of the University of Wisconsin, his chief research interests have been morphological changes in growth phases of bacteria, and virus diseases, especially poliomyelitis. Although Clark was retired in 1952, he still keeps a pen in one hand and a platinum loop in the other. Alice in Virusland (53) This bit of philosophy and fantasy, mixed with some nonsense, was written when the storm clouds preceding the Second World War were piling in cumulus masses well above the horizon. The author endows our "little animals" with wisdom and Alice, as the representative of the human species, is brought before their tribunal for trial. The microbes and the Unknown Soldier of the First World War join with Erasmus in affirming that "unto man, there is no wild or cruel beast more hurtful than man." (Upon recommendation by the then Editor-in-chief of the Journal of Bacteriol- ogy, Professor C-E. A. Winslow, this address was republished in book form; it is now going into a second printing.) 1939 New Haven Arthur Trautwein Henrici 1889-1943 During many years as professor of bacteriology in the University of Minnesota, Henrici proceeded in his quiet thoroughgoing way to dig into the less known corners of microbiology. His studies in fungous diseases of man and his 1953] HALF CENTURY OF PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES 235 book in that field merit commendation. His monograph on Morpholoic Variation and the Rate of Growth of Bacteria (64) is a monument of meticulous thorough study which required obstinate perseverance. Characteristics of Fungous Diseases (55) Henrici paints with careful detail the picture of the differences in the lesions, age and occupational incidence, geographical distribution, and course, between the superficial and the deep seated mycoses. He discusses host-parasite relationships and, following Theobald Smith's philosophy, places the organisms causing the first type in the class of successful parasites in that they can continue to live almost indefinitely at the expense of the host. The organisms causing the deep seated mycoses on the other hand have not the ready means of transfer and frequently cause fatal infections thus destroying their "meal tickets". These therefore he places in the group of less successful parasites. In both of the types of mycoses and in other infectious granulomata, the allergic state is a manifest part of the pathologic picture. But "how can the allergic state be both injurious and protective, apparently leading to eventual immunity in the dermatomycoses and to continued spread of the disease, and death, in the deep-seated fungous diseases?" "I believe that the answer is found in the location of the reaction." In the superficial mycoses and in the experimental Koch phenomenon, the reaction is largely superficial with sloughing, therefore protective. In the deeper mycoses, the necrosis leads to a disastrous spread of the infection. He considers also that the tuberculin type of allergy is due to a peculiar type of antigen found chiefly in the fungi and related organisms. The "allergy of infection" incited by these antigens is more nearly akin to toxin hypersensitivity. He recommends this field as a fertile one for precise investigation by immunolo- gists. 1940 St. Louis Charles Thom 1872- Thom served as mycologist in the U. S. Department of Agriculture from 1904 until his retirement in 1942. He has received many honors, bestowed by botanists and mycologists as well as by bacteriologists, and is a member of our National Academy of 5ciences. His studies on the microbiology of soils and the editions of his treatises and manuals on the aspergilli and the penicillia with several co-authors fill us with admiration. Thom has also given considerable delight to our gourmet centers; he isolated and named the penicillin that give the 5chmeek to Roquefort and to Camembert cheeses, incidentally furnishing the government with another industry to tax. Out of the Furrow (56) Using a single important plant disease, cotton root rot, caused by a mold, as his example, Thom described the various methods of attempting to control such diseases. Of all the methods tried, none has been successful in preventing this particular infection. Cultivation of the soil and added organic matter resulting in increased microorganisms of many types are the most effective means of control so far discovered. 1941 Baltimore Oswald Theodore Avery 1877- Avery has been a member in the Rockefeller Institute Hospital for decades. During that period he has guided and stimulated the work and gained the admiring affection of those who have had the good fortune to be his associates. 236 PAUL F. CLARK [VOL. 17

With them he has ferreted out many intricacies of the pneumococci, theirspecific capsular polysaccharides, and finally determined the factor which plays the leading part in causing a change from one type to another. These discoveries of far-reaching importance have affected all microbiological and many genetic fields. Avery, officially retired in 1943, has been the recipient of many honors and awards both at home and abroad; he is a member of our National Academy of sciences. There is no record of his address in the Archives. 1942 The meeting was to have been held at Columbus but because of the war, it was cancelled at the eleventh hour. Selman Abraham Waksman 1888- Professor of microbiology in Rutgers University, Wakaman has long been a tireless student of soil microorganisms and their interrelations. In recent years, his attention had been directed to the study of antibiotic, culminating in the development of streptomycin. Russia does ocasionally give us a prise, in this awe a Nobel priseman. Waksman's broad conceptions of the problems involved in antibiosis are presented in stimulating fashion in his Microbial Antago- nosss and Antibiotic Subetanmca. He has been the recipient of many awards and is a member of our National Academy of Sciences. The Microbe as a Biological System (57) After a telling introduction appropriate to "the greatest emergency that has ever faced the civilized world," Waksman called attention to our failure to recognize that the great majority of microbes "carry out their normal activities not in pure cultures but in mixed populations." He gave examples of strikingly different physiologic activities of bacteria when grown in pure cultures and when living with various associated microorganisms. He also indicated a number of "chain reactions" in which the different steps in a series are carried on by different groups of organisms; "the two-step oxidation of the ammonium ion to the ni- trate ion is a good illustration of this type of transformation." He named eight different factors that are significant in the struggle for exist- ence in complex microbic populations. In considering these "associative relations among microbes," Waksman cited examples of modification of the metabolism of an organism through alteration of the chemical environment, i.e., certain anaerobic bacteria produce butyric acid in the presence of CaCOs but yield largely butyl alcohol in the absence of a neutralizing agent. Antagonistic relations among microorganisms were interestingly presented with a brief history from De Bary (1879) to Fleming and Florey, and with a significant table of the different chemical types of antibiotic substances produced. The paper is full of meat and rich in pertinent questions for future investigators to answer. He concludes with the words of Pasteur: "Messieurs, c'est les microbes qui auront le dernier mot." 1943 No meeting because of the War Rebecca Craighill Lancefield 1895- Long a valued contributor on the staff of the Rockefeller Institute, Rebecca Lancefield has through many difficulties stuck largely to one problem, the streptococci; where many have failed, she has succeeded in clearing up much of the confusion in that complex group. No address was submitted. 1953] HALF CENTURY OF PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES 237 1944 New York Ira Lawrence Baldwin 1895- Baldwin was for years a valued colleague in the department of bacteriology, College of Agriculture, University of Wisconsin. His major contributions were in the fields of soil bacteriology, root nodule bacteria, and industrial fermentation. During this period he was active in fostering the affairs of the Society. Then (like so many bacteriologists) he forsook the laboratory for a succession of important administrative positions. Since 1948, he has been vice-president in charge of academic affairs in the University of Wisconsin. Where does the Trail Lead? (58) This address was delivered at the war time meeting but was never published. After a brief history of the Society and a consideration of the economic and service factors which have contributed to its growth, Baldwin put on his "far off spectacles" and suggested 5 fields of bacteriologic study which in his judgment should be most rewarding in the future. 1. Synthetic activities of microorganisms. Example: penicillin. 2. Associative action of living organisms. Example: symbiotic nitrogen fixation. 3. Fundamental study of cellular growth and metabolism. 4. Analytic reactions. Example: break down of carbohydrates; similarly dissimilation of protein and fat should be studied. 5. Microbial change and variation. Example: "glycin in a synthetic medium on which symbiotic nitrogen fixing bacteria were grown resulted in a loss of the ability to infect the plant." 1945 Meeting omitted-War Stuart Mudd 1893- Professor of bacteriology in the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, Mudd's major investigations in recent years have dealt with electron microscopy of bacteria, bacteriophage and other viruses. Important techniques of bacterial filtration and drying n vacuo have come from his laboratory and, earlier, studies in phagocytosis. He has contributed dfectively in an unusual variety of scientific societies and governmental committees. Can Chaeotherapy be Extendd to Include Intracellular Disease Agents? (59) Because of the war no general meeting of the society was held, but the presidential address was presented on different dates before four eastern local branches. This stimulating essay emphasizes the desirability of proceeding in an orderly manner instead of by purely empirical methods in our efforts to obtain further chemotherapeutic drugs. Following Sir Henry Dale's analysis it would appear "that in a large proportion of chemotherapeutic cures, the infection is brought to an end by stopping the further multiplication of the parasites rather than by killing them outright." One should then seek "a metabolic inhibitor or inhibitors which selectively inhibit a reaction or reactions essential to the intracellular multiplication of the parasite, but (at least temporarily) inessential to the survival of the host cell." He gives several examples of critical sites of chemotherapeutic action. He con- 238 PAUL F. CLARK [voL. 17 cludes that "the investigation of bacterial respiratory and other metabolic systems as a basis for a rational chemotherapy will bring our disciplines into close association with studies of nutrition, normal and abnormal growth, and the physiology of muscular, nervous, and glandular function." 1946 Detroit James Craigie 1899- Born and educated in Scotland, Craigie held professorial positions in the Connaught Laboratories, Toronto, from 1931 to 1949 when he was called to London to be the chief of the Imperial Cancer Institute. His investigations have included many virus studies, particularly with variola and vaccinia, poliomyelitis, and the use of bacteriophage in typing the typhoid bacilli. The Significance and Applications of Bacteriophage in Bacteriological and Virus Research (60) (This was the first presidential address published in Bacteriological Reviews.) This detailed scholarly survey of intricate moot questions in bacteriophagy begins with an entertaining "fish story" which shows that one's observations may be correct at one time in a cycle but completely erroneous when applied to another period. Craigie indicates that this is also demonstrable in many studies on bacteriophage. He presents the particulars of major advances in our knowledge of bacteriophage, emphasizing: 1. Phage as particulate antigen and the A and B receptors. 2. The events following phage adsorption. 3. The variety of interfering substances and the opportunity for studying the interference phenomenon in this field with its relatively simple host-virus relationships. 4. Phage mutations and use of phage as agent for classifying bacteria. 5. The problem of latency, latent phages and latent infections generally. 1947 Philadelphia Thomas Francis, Jr. 1900- Henry Sewell Distinguished Professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health, Uaiversity of Michigan, Francis has had wide experience both in the clinic and in the laboratory. His research interests have taken him chiefly into studies of virus diseases with noteworthy contributions in poliomyelitis and in influenza. He is a member of our National Academy of Sciences and has held significant administrative positions in the fields of his major interests. Mechanism of Infection and Immunity in Virus Diseases of Man (61) This provocative review presents our knowledge in the field under discussion under four categories: 1. Virus diseases in which virus infection persists but immunity does not. Psittacosis in the natural hosts and the carrier state of pneumonitis in mice, hamsters, etc., "represent persistent unstable but balanced infections instead of high grade immunities.... Physiologic insult which may disturb the equilibrium gives opportunity for the virus to assume the offensive." 2. Virus diseases in which immunity persists and evidence indicates that the virus does not; as for example, measles and smallpox among the exanthemata 1953] HALF CENTURY OF PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES 239 and yellow fever and many of the acute encephalitides among the infections transmitted by arthropods. 3. Virus diseases in which neither virus infection nor immunity persists may be represented by influenza and the common cold. These are characterized by short incubation periods and by primary injury to a superficial tissue, "essentially extravascular." 4. Virus diseases in which both virus infection and immunity persist independ- ently are exemplified by the Shope papilloma and some of the virus chicken tumors. "In general it appears that immunity in virus diseases is, as with infections by other agents, related to the interplay of antibodies and the cells of the body, varying according to the mechanisms of infection and the characteristics of the agent... . In some instances the important item is not merely whether antibody is present in the blood alone, but its concentration and its availability to the tissues where the virus is encountered.... Protection of the local area where the virus makes its entry may protect the body as a whole." 1948 Minneapolis Harold Joel Conn 1886- A soil bacteiologist, Conn has served successfully as chief of research in the New York Agricultural Experiment Station since 1920. As chairman and president of the Biological Stain Comision he has worked efficiently in clarifying much of our knowledge about stains and, through cooperation with industry, has made standardised products available for all scientists. He is the author of several books on stains and staining procedure and the editor of Stein Tecinoogi. He was retired from his laboratory post in 1948. Professor Herbert William Conn and Ate Founding of the Society (6) This biography of an early American bacteriologist, one of the founders of the Society and its third president, is presented by the son, also a productive bacteriologist and our forty-ninth president. 1949 Cincinnati William McDowell Hammon 1904- Professor in the School of Public Health in the University of California until 1950, Hammon is now in charge of the department of epidemiology and microbiology in the Graduate School of Public Health of the University of Pitts- burgh. Both in the field and in the laboratory, he has madesignificant contributions to our knowledge of the arthropod borne virus encephalitides and of poliomyelitis. Immunity in Poliomyelitis (62) In this critical review, Hammon asks and presents his answers to two major questions: 1. Does a single poliomyelitis infection, clinical or subclinical, produce a long enduring immunity, as in measles? 2. Does poliomyelitis immunity prevent reinfection and the carrier state completely, or does it merely modify the clinical effects? He bases his consideration on a comparison of laboratory and epidemiological studies in poliomyelitis with similar findings from related central nervous system virus diseases, the specific encephalitides, also measles, mumps, diphtheria, and 240 PAUL F. CLARK [VOL. 17 beta hemolytic streptococcic infections. He draws his evidence from widely scattered areas, both tropical and temperate, and from different economic and age groups. In the several isolated areas that have been studied, as for example, the island of Guam, paralytic poliomyelitis is not observed among the natives. Spe- cific poliomyelitis antibodies are found, however, in the blood of young children much earlier than in the United States. Following the fresh introduction of poliomyelitis into these areas, the disease has appeared almost entirely among Ameri- can children and adults, not among the natives. "Diphtheria infection, too, is present on Guam though seldom recognized clinically.... Very few children even at 1-3 years of age are Schick positive (susceptible) yet the disease was not recognized and no artificial immunization had been practiced." Poliomyelitis behaves more like diphtheria than like measles both in immunity and in the spread of the virus. One must bear in mind also that at least three par- tially specific types of poliomyelitis virus are known; these add to the confusion since more than one type has been demonstrated in several epidemics. Hammon concludes with an urgent plea for the development of simpler accurate methods for diagnosis of the disease and demonstration of the virus. 1950 Baltimore Barnett Cohen 1891-1952 From the Hygienic Laboratory of the U. S3. Public Health Service, Cohen went with his chief and colleague, W. M. Clark, to the department of physiological chemistry in Johns Hopkins Medical School where he worked effectively and with the warm appreciation both of students and faculty associates until his untimely death last year. His major scientific contributions were in the field of biological oxidation-reductions and with acid-base and oxidation-reduction indicators. His scientific avocations, may we call them, and his personal contributions have been of equal significance. As archivist of the S. A. B., as editor of Bacteaiologil Review., as wise counselor, and as the warm, sympathetic example of scientific humanism, Barney had endeared himself to his many friends. Chronicles of the Society of American Bacteriologists 1899-1950 (with photographs of the presidents of the Society) (1) This valuable historical document with notes and letters referring to the founding of the Society and reprints of the programs of the first two meetings was pre- pared by our archivist, our fifty-first president. The attractive volume was presented to the members of the Society as a memento by our publishers and printers, The Williams & Wilkins Company and Waverly Press. Following the banquet a cinema of the life of William Welch was shown. 1951 Chicago Walter James Nungester 1901- Professor of bacteriology in the Medical Scbool of the University of Michigan, Nungester has been especially interested in broad questions in infection and resistance. His studies with mucin and in phagocytosis are noteworthy. Mechanisms of Man's Resistance to Infectious Diseases (63) This address was never delivered. The desire of the local committee for a floor show at the banquet and the unwillingness of President Nungester to take time during a heavily crowded scientific program produced a regrettable "interference phenomenon". 19531 HALF CENTURY OF PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES 241 This competent review of the mechanisms of "innate resistance" avoids, as far as possible, the problems of antibodies and the immune state. Nungester stresses the point, too frequently overlooked, that resistance and susceptibility must be considered with reference to a particular host and a specific microorgan- ism. No such state as general resistance exists. He considers first various mechanical barriers such as the skin, gastrointestinal mucosa, epithelium of the respiratory tract, and structures such as tendon sheaths and serous membranes which offer resistance to the entrance of parasitic Orgamsms. Frequently this resistance is not only mechanical but physiological, as for example the acidity and peptic action of the gastric juice, the acid reaction of the vaginal secretions, and the nonspecific germicidal activity of blood plasma and serum. Phagocytosis of pathogenic organisms both by circulating ad by fixed cells with prompt clearance of the blood stream receives the stress which it merits. He summarizes our sparse contemporary knowledge of the mechanisms of contact, ingestion, and digestion of parasites by phagocytic cells of the host. He presents also certain factors that inhibit or prevent phagocytosis such as high blood levels of alcohol and pneumococcus capsular polysaccharides, and urges more study of chemical agents which may aid phagocytosis. The general factors in resistance and susceptibility, about which even less is known, are discussed under the headings of the genetic constitution, the effect of age, nutrition, fatigue and temperature changes of the body. He pleads for more combination efforts, "all possible approaches, . . . to gain a maximum advantage for the host in his battle against parasites." 1952 Boston Rend Jules Dubos 1901- Member of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, member of the National Academy, editor of the Journal ofRzverimental Medicine, author of The Bacterial Cell (64), a sympathetic biographyof Pasteur (65), and more recently (with Jean Dubos) a critical volume on The White Plague (66), Dubos has been a major contributor to the scientific life of our country. He was among the first to study antibacterial agents of biological origin and the use of bacterial ensymes in the study of infection. His development of new methods for the cultivation of tubercle bacilli and his demonstration of favorable effect of certain diets in experimental tuberculosis also merit high commendation. Microbiology in Fable and Art (67) This sympathetic scholarly address, rooted in the far away legends of long ago, fed by the beauty of biblical and classical poetry, brings to flower and fruit the renaissance of modern science. The microbiologist sees the scientific facts and appreciates their significance but views with kindly eyes both the mysticisms and the aspirations of the religions of the world. He finds evidence in the universal spring festivals of eternal yearning for explanations of our riddles and of the broad belief "that newlife grows out of the products of decay.... For the history of thought, it was a great step forward when microbiological science began to explain why decay is not death." May I salute our past president for venturing to use that richer term, Bacillus prodigiosus, rather than the one preferred by some taxonomists. In this respect, I too am among the unregenerate. I doubt if any appreciative person can stand before the cathedral of Orvieto (a major result of the Miracle of Bolsena) and 242 PAUL F. CLARK [vOL. 17 then follow the "prodigies" north as far as the Church of Ste. Gudule in Brussels without considering the vivid historical name as the more appropriate. Microbiology has "come of age" when one of its leaders can enrich us all in this manner.

EPILOGUE Now that I have read and dreamed of these addresses for weeks, I find that they provide too few bases for any critical survey of American bacteriology during the last half century, and contrary to hopes, they have revealed nothing startling. Although the presidents always have had complete freedom of choice of subject and mode of approach, not one has attempted a survey of the advances of his year;-just too overwhelming, I presume.

(0- FIG. 1. Age distribution of presidents of the Society. z l \c (Ordinate scale is for frequency curve obtained by combining individual ages into five year groups; divide ordinate by 2 for distribution of individual ages shown in

. histogram.)

40 45 50 55 Z es 70 AGE

The addresses do offer, however, certain revealing and stimulating suggestions: 1. Certain statistical facts seem entertaining. 2. No one can write on any subject without being somewhat autobiographical so that throughout the papers one catches glimpses of the personalities as well as the interests of the man in the period of his presidency. 3. Most important, one finds throughout the papers a rich variety of suggestions for continued research, glimpses of rapid changes through the discovery and application of new methods, and hints for living the life of an effective bacteriologist. Consider a few figures about the men and their presidential offerings. The Society has been served at the high table by men born as early as 1839 (Burrill) to as late as 1904 (Hammon). In age they have ranged from a stripling of 35 (Buchanan,-Winslow was 36) to a patriarch of 77 (Burrill). The histogram and frequency curve in figure 1 summarize the relevant facts regarding the age distribution. One sees that the most favorable age group for presidential timber in this society is 45-49, indicative of the large numbers of young persons in our membership. Turning to the addresses, of the fifty-four possibilities, we find no record in the literature or in the Archives of the offerings of six of the presidents, war and 1953] HALF CENTURY OF PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES 243 death deprived us in four other instances, and in 1935 we had both a presidential published paper and a vice-presidential unpublished speech. The papers vary as much in length as in mood and subject matter; the mean is approximately 6,200 words with a low count of 2,500 and a high of 12,000 words. More significant than statistics, however, are the varieties of revealed interests of the men themselves. Philosophic implications are manifest in all the addresses, but in attempting an analysis, I have separated the forty-four available talks into six catetories: Philosophy The Society, Broadly Detailed Legend and Bacteriology its Accomplishments Scientific Scientific Fantasy Biography in Education and its Problms 22 8 5 3 3 3 It seems noteworthy that twenty-two chose a broad scientific theme and that an equal number sought some other means of expression, eight emphasizing a particular group of organisms or disease, five fantasy, philosophy, and legend, and three each biography, bacteriology in education, and the Society of American Bacteriologists. Most of the papers are highly individual, but some reward may be derived from further attempts to classify, especially those with the broader scientific themes. Five presidents (Jordan, Winslow, Breed, Evans, and Craigie) consider types of bacterial variations, methods and difficulties of classifying these morphologi- cally simple microorganisms, some of the bases of variation and even a glimpse into the possibility of life cycles in bacteria. But with all their variations, similar staphylococci are found in pus the world over and similar Clostridium perfringens in human feces. We must recognize the significance of variations and of mutations and which variations are important. We need systematic bacteriology, detailed studies of each group of microorganisms, a growing taxonomy in order to know what we are talking about. All honor to those who school themselves to such necessary investigations. Six beginning with Kinyoun in 1909 have dealt with phases of natural resistance or specific immunity. The analysis of a mode of study such as specific agglutination (Buchanan), the immunity problems of a particular disease as poliomyelitis (Hammon), the important enigma of latency in communicable disease (Meyer), the problem of infection and immunity in virus diseases generally (Francis), and mechanisms of natural resistance to infection (Nungester) have all been critically presented. Questions bristle in each of these papers. Four men (Gorham, Rettger, Bayne-Jones, and Brown) have emphasized the need of more quantitative biochemical studies, the use of synthetic media rather than crude unknown mixtures to obtain accurate knowledge of underlying physiology, the importance of studying what bacteria are and what they do without regard to immediate practical applications. The use of bacterial cultures where "a day is as a thousand yean" was urged by Gorham for the study of genetics and evolution. Much progress has been made in all of these fields, but we are far from the home stretch. The exciting advances in the genetics of microorganisms from 1911 when Gorham urged such endeavors are stimulating many young investigators. Although many synthetic media have been devised, few of 244 PAUL F. CLARK [VOL. 17 them are in common use, partly because of the expense. Efforts in this direction should be pressed especially with the pathogenic bacteria where the studies have been all too few. A significant phase of bacterial investigation voiced by five presidents (Russell, Marshall, Hastings, Thom, and Waksman) stresses quite another mode of approach, that of mixed microbial associations; only rarely in nature does one species live alone but instead establishes itself in open competition as do larger plants and animals. Our "pure cultures" are hot house plants growing under abnormal conditions. Obvious are the tremendous advances made in recent years in the study of symbiosis and antibiosis. One is reminded also of Shope's demonstration of the mixed infection resulting in swine influenza. More such studies are urgently needed; perhaps a similar approach would yield reslts in diseases of uncertain or unknown etiology such as acute rheumatic fever or multiple sclero- sis. Such studies should be correlated with nutritional investigations. Large cooperative groups involving many disciplines seem to be indicated. Interesting is the fact that none of the men urging studies of microbic associative relations would be classed as a medical microbiologist. They derive from the soil. Several papers do not fall into the suggested categories. That of Rogers on the organization of research, Rivers on the Henle-Koch postulates, and Mudd on a logical plan for chemotherapeutic studies lead the mind far into the future. That of Henrici on fungous diseases, Prescott on dehydration of food, and Thom on diseases of plants call attention to great gaps in our knowledge. Baldwin suggests five broad fields of investigation which should yield rewarding results. The papers presenting the neglect of bacteriology in the teaching of general science, biology, and medical schools have somewhat less basis in fact today than when the addresses were delivered. The talks on the Society offer to this reviewer little but passing interest. The Newslter fills that function admirably. Biography is always illuminating, and in these presidential addresses we have the possibility of wandering back to the 17th century with the father of bacteriology, van Leeuwenhoek, presented by Fred, to the beginning of this century with one of the founders of this Society, Conn, and of glimpsing the half century just passed by means of this review and the Fifty Year Chronicles by Cohen. And if we do desire, we may wander still further into fields of fantasy, prophecy, and legend with W. M. Clark, Rosenau, Rivers, P. F. Clark, and Dubos. Certain broad emphases are apparent in many of the papers, and one especially stands out in all. This is well expressed in a brief quotation from Pavloff's Testament to Youth:-"Gradualness, gradualness, and gradualness. From the very beginning of your work, school yourselves to severe gradualness in the ac- cumulation of knowledge." In all the addresses, even when a highly significant rapid advance is presented as in the study of antibiotics by Waksman, the roots extend deep in the past. Scanning these addresses suggests that we might well read the older literature and the foreign literature to our great advantage. Another thesis that recurs repeatedly from the first paper by Sedgwick to the last one by Dubos is the change that microbiology has caused in attitudes of mind, almost as great as that incited by Darwin's Origin of Species and Descent of Man. 1953] HALF CENTURY OF PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSE 245 Not only can the origins of fermentation and the rise of epidemic plagues be found in natural causes, but some presidents are hopeful enough to assert that magic and superstitions have been overthrown, and in Rosenau's delightful Serendipity we find the acme of optimism. He declares that now (1934) even emotional problems "may be discussed with calm detachment." How many millennia will be required before that comes true in times of fear and stress? One perceives a third generalization in many of the talks, namely the importance of a new method in opening the door to fresh experimental opportunities and to additional paths of thought. Welch and the other pathologists of his gene. ration attacked the problems of infectious diseases by the new bacteriologic methods; antigen-antibody reactions have become a commonly employed tool as, for example, the settling of some of the confusion among the streptococci (42, 52), and some of the puzzles of poliomyelitis (62); biometry has aided bacterial taxonomy (21); and the lowly bacteriophage has provided methods of studying complex host-parasite relationships (60) and a means of tracing the spread of epidemics. The electron microscope, virus filtration, the ultracentrifuge, and pH meters are mentioned in the more recent papers as casually as the petri plate was in the early days of the century. So rapidly have we progressed Occasionally the need of a specific method as yet undeveloped is stressed, as for example, in Hamon's urgent plea for simple accurate means for the diagnosis of poliomyelitis and the demonstration of the virus. In the brief interval since 1949, Enders has shown us a relatively simple method for demonstrating the virus, so that now a large room of expensive difficult monkeys has given place to a small corner with clean roller tubes of growing tissue and specific antibodies. A word from past presidents to the younger members would certainly be:- Develop a new method! But rarely do we realize the limitations of a new method or miracle drug; obviously we cannot know the limitations until study and time have taught us not to be so easily persuaded. (See discussion by Finland, M. 1951 Bull. N. Y. Acad. Med., 27, 199-220.) Accomplishment and rugged optimism are apparent in so many of the speeches that one harks back to Shakespeare's Tempest. "How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind isI 0 brave new world, That has such people in't." Any sins of omission or commission in this review are not coincidental but are due to an attack of that notorious Virus de Vejdz. If I have done injustice to any, "Pray you now, forget and forgive." 1. COHEN, BARNEIr, 1950 Chronicles of the Society of American Bacteriologists. The Williams & Wilkins Co., Baltimore. 2. JORDAN, E. O., WHPPLz, G. C., AND WINSLOW, C-E. A. 1924 A pioneer of public health, William Thompson SedOgwick. Yale University Press, New Haven. 3. SEDGWICK, W. T. 1901 The origin, scope and significance of bacteriology. Science, 13, 121-128. 246 PAUL F. CLARK [VOL. 17

4. William Henry Welch and the heroic age of American Medicine, by Simon Flexner and James Thomas Flexner. 1941 Viking Press, Inc., New York. 5. William Henry Welch-Papers and addresses. 1920 3 vols. The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 2, 637. 6. CONN, H. J. 1948 Professor Herbert William Conn and the founding of the society. Bact. Revs., 12, 275-296. 7. SMITH, THEOBALD 1934 Parasitism and disease. Princeton University Press. 8. Novy, F. G. 1905 On the hematozoa of birds. (Abstract) Science, 21, 481. 9. JORDAN, E. 0. 1908 Textbook of bacteriology. 1st ed. W. B. Saunders Co., Phila- delphia. 10. JORDAN, E. O., RUSSELL, H. L., AND ZEIT, F. R. 1904 Longevity of the typhoid bacillus in water. J. Infectious Diseases, 1, 641-689. (These classical studies, instigated by the Chicago drainage canal lawsuit, are spread through several journals and were brought together, I believe, only in the court records.) 11. JORDAN, E. 0. 1905 Variation in bacteria. Unpublished manuscript in S. A. B. Ar- chives. 12. SrNTH, E. F. 1905-1914 Bacteria in relation to plant diseases. 3 vols. Washington. 13. DucLAux, EMILE 1920 Pasteur, The history of a mind, translated by E. F. Smith and F. Hedges. W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia 14. RODGERS, A. D., III 1952 Erwin Frink Smith; a story of North American plant pathology. Amer. Philosophical Society, Philadelphia. 15. REED, WALTER, et al. 1911 Yellow fever. Senate Document 822. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. 16. KINYOUN, J. J. 1910 Some observations on the immune body. (Abstract) Science, 31, 547. 17. MOORE, V. A. 1911 Bacteriology in general education. Science, 33, 277-284. 18. GoRSAm, F. P. 1912 Some biochemical problems in bacteriology. Science, 386, 357- 362. 19. PARK, W. H., AND GuERARD, A. R. 1899 Bacteriology in medicine and surgery. lt ed. Lea and Febiger, Philadelphia. Later editions under title of Pathogenic microorgan- ism8 by Park and Williams. 20. PARK, W. H. 1913 The applications of bacteriology in the activities of a city. (Ab- stract) Science, 38, 369. 21. WINSLOW, C-E. A. 1914 The characterization and classification of bacterial types. Science, 39, 77-91. 22. MARSHALL, C. E. (Editor) 1911 Microbiology. 1st ed. The Blakiston Company, Philadelphia. 23. MARSHALL, C. E. 1915 Microbial associations. Science, 41, 306-312. 24. BERGEY, D. H. 1916 The pedagogics of bacteriology. J. Bact., 1, 5-14. 25. RETTOER, L. F. 1918 The science of bacteriology and its relation to other sciences. J. Bact., 3, 103-113. 26. BUCHANAN, R. E. 1925 General systematic bacteriology. The Williams & Wilkins Co., Baltimore. 27. BUCHANAN, ESTELLE D., AND BUCHANAN, R. E. 1913 Household bacteriology. 1st ed. Macmillan Co., New York. 28. BUCHANAN, R. E. 1919 Agglutination. J. Bact., 4, 73-105. 29. PRESCOTr, S. C., AND WINSLOW, C-E. A. 1904 Water bacteriology. 1st ed. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 30. PRESCOTT, S. C. 1920 Some bacteriological aspects of dehydration. J. Bact., 5, 109-125. 31. HARRISON, F. C. 1924 The "miraculous" organism. Trans. Can. Royal Soc., 18, 1-17. 32. HARRISON, F. C. 1922 Our society. J. Bact., 7, 149-157. 33. ROGERS, L. A. 1923 What constitutes efficiency in research? J. Bact., 8, 197-213. 19531 HALF CENTURY OF PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES 247

34. HASTINGS, E. G. 1924 Some questions of method in bacteriology. J. Bact., 9, 95-110. 35. HARRIS, N. MAcLzOD 1926 Our society-in retrospect and prospect. J. Bact., 11, 153-164. 36. ZINSSER, HANS 1935 Rats, lice and history. Little, Brown and Co., Boston. 37. ZINsska, HANS 1914 Infection and resistance. 1st ed. Macmillan Co., New York. 38. ZINSSER, HANS 1940 As I remember him. (An autobiography). Little, Brown and Co., Boston. 39. ZINSSER, HANS 1927 Problems of the bacteriologist in his relations to medicine and the public health. J. Bact., 13, 147-162. 40. BREED, R. S. 1928 The present status of systematic bacteriology. J. Bact., 15, 143-163. 41. EVANS, ALICE C. 1929 Life cycles in bacteria. J. Bact., 17, 63-77. 42. HEKTOEN, LUDVIG 1930 Advances in the study of streptococci. J. Bact., 19, 57-72. 43. BAYNE-JONES, STANHOPE 1931 Reciprocal effects of the relationship of bacteriology and medicine. J. Bact., 21, 61-73. 44. BROWN, J. H. 1932 The biological approach to bacteriology. J. Bact., 23, 1-10. 45. FRED, E. B. 1933 Antony van Leeuwenhoek on the three hundredth anniversary of his birth. J. Bact., 25, 1-18. 46. CLARK, W. M. 1934 Evolution toward a mature scientific literature. J. Bact., 27, 1-18. 47. ROSENAU, M. J. 1913 Preventive medicine and hygiene. 1st ed. Appleton Co., New York. 48. ROSENAU, M. J. 1935 Serendipity. J. Bact., 29, 91-98. 49. MEYER, K. F. 1936 Latent infections. J. Bact., 31, 109-135. 50. RIvEPs, T. M. 1935 Virus de Vej6z. Never published; personal copy from author. 51. RivERs, T. M. 1937 Viruses and Koch's postulates. J. Bact., 33, 1-12. 52. SHERMAN, J. M. 1938 The enterococci and related streptococci. J. Bact., 35, 81-93. 53. CLARK, P. F. 1938 Alice in virusland. J. Bact., 36, 223-241. 54. HENRICI, A. T. 1928 Morphologic variation and the rate of growth of bacteria. C. C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois. 55. HENICI, A. T. 1940 Characteristics of fungous diseases. J. Bact., 39, 113-138. 56. THOM, C. 1941 Out of the furrow. J. Bact., 41, 1-15. 57. WAKSMAN, S. A. 1943 The microbe as a biological system. J. Bact., 45, 1-10. 58. BALDWIN, I. L. 1944 Where does the trail lead? Unpublished manuscript in S. A. B. Archives. 59. MUDD, S. 1945 Can chemotherapy be extended to include the intracellular disease agents? J. Bact., 49, 527-537. 60. CRAIGIE, J. 1946 The significance and applications of bacteriophage in bacteriological and virus research. Bact. Revs., 10, 73-88. 61. FRANCIS, T., JR. 1947 Mechanism of infection and immunity in virus diseases of man. Bact. Revs., 11, 147-156. 62. HAMMON, W. MCDOWELL 1949 Immunity in poliomyelitis. Bact. Revs., 13, 135-159. 63. NUNGESTER, W. J. 1951 Mechanisms of man's resistance to infectious diseases. Bact. Revs., 15, 105-129. 64. Duzos, R. J. 1947 The bacterial cell. Harvard University Press, Cambridge. 65. DuBoS, R. J. 1950 Louis Pasteur,free lance ofscience. Little, Brownand Co., Boston. 66. DuBos, R. J., AND DuBos, JEAN. 1952 The White Plague. Little, Brown and Co., Boston. 67. Dunos, R. J. 1952 Microbiology in fable and art. Bact. Revs., 16, 145-151.